On Tuesday afternoon four people were murdered, and multiple others injured in a terrorist shooting attack at a gas station and restaurant at the entrance to the community of Eli in the Binyamin region.
The IDF stated that two terrorists approached the gas station in a vehicle and opened fire, moderately injuring a security guard. The terrorists then opened fire at a restaurant and shot at five other people. One terrorist was shot on the scene and the second was eliminated after a 2-hour manhunt.
The four victims identified are: Nachman Shmuel Mordoff (17) from Ahiya; Elisha Antman (18) a resident of Eli; Harel Masoud (21) from Yad Binyamin; and Ofer Feirman (60) from Eli. All four were eating in a hummus restaurant adjacent to the gas station when the two Palestinian terrorists began shooting.
Just one day after this latest terror carnage, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich yesterday agreed on the immediate promotion of the planning of approximately 1,000 new housing units in Eli. It is the “Zionist response” but why did a terror attack have to be the catalyst?
Prime Minister Netanyahu declared that building new homes is “our response to terror.” The problem with this declaration is that so far it has not eliminated the terror attacks that prompted the government to announce it will authorize more building. Even worse, is that when the terrorists see more building in response to their attacks against Israel, their terror attacks escalate. Saying they will build in response to terror should not be the norm that it is. It can be one response, but Israel legally owns the land. Israel has the right and should build on the land whenever and however she sees fit. Got it?
Some young Jews have protested very strongly in neighboring areas, not the one these terrorists are from. Binyamin Regional Counsel Israel Ganz has called for an end to these disturbances. A more creative response came from Yitzhar, where they were able to cut the power lines to Kafr Urif, the village the terrorists came from saying “Their electricity will not pass through us.”
4 murdered in terrorist shooting attack in Eli, by Israel National News, June 20, 2023